Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Report: 1 in 5 Illinois kids is obese

Here's an interesting article from the Chicago Tribune. "Illinois ranks 10th in the country for percentage of children ages 10-17 who are overweight ot obese" writes Monica Eng, a tribune reporter.

"Reversing the childhood obesity epidemic is a critical ingredient for delivering a healthier population and making health reform work," Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, said in a statement. "If we can prevent the current generation of young people from developing the serious and costly chronic conditions related to obesity, we can not only improve heath and quality of life, but we can save billions of dollars and make our health care system more efficient and sustainable."